Newton excels in debut for Pats
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. >> The Cam Newton era for the New England Patriots arrived on the ground.
Newton looked just fine as Tom Brady’s replacement, rushing for two touchdowns Sunday, and the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 21-11 to open the season.
Newton rushed for 15 times for 75 yards and threw for 155 yards, leading a Patriots offensive attack that did most of its damage via the rushing game in their first game since the departure of Brady to Tampa Bay as a free agent.
“It was relatively picking up right where I remember the game to be,” said Newton, played for the first time in more than a year. “I think it was just a feeling-through process as well with (offensive coordinator) Josh (McDaniels), coach Bill (Belichick), as well as (quarterbacks coach) Jedd (Fisch) to understand what they have . ... We made the adjustments and we executed.”
Newton’s 75 yards were the most by a Patriots quarterback since Steve Grogan had 81 in 1977.
Sony Michel added a touchdown for New England, which had 217 of its 357 yards on the ground. Newton was 15 of 19 passing.
Newton said not even a postgame scrum in which a Dolphins player “got under my skin” by grabbing his chain could ruin the day.
“It’s football,” Newton said. “For me no matter who it is, I play with a competitive edge and I respect the other team to have a competitive edge as well.”
Miami struggled for most of the game offensively.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 20 of 30 for 191 yards and three interceptions. Miami was held to 269 total yards.